Method and system for increased realism in video games

ABSTRACT

A system and method for updating parameters of a video game is provided. As events occur in the real world that may influence a game attribute, a parameter is recorded on a server. A video game player may connect to the server and download the parameter. The parameter is stored by the video game and changes an attribute of the video game. Thus, for example, the new performance characteristics of the rising star may be recorded on the server as improved performance parameters. When these parameters are downloaded by the video game player, the video game incorporates the star-like qualities of the rising star.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/034,530 filed on Sep. 23, 2013 entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FORINCREASED REALISM IN VIDEO GAMES, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/266,795 filed on Oct. 8, 2002 entitled METHODAND SYSTEM FOR INCREASED REALISM IN VIDEO GAMES, the contents of bothpatent applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Many video games attempt to recreate realistic situations. For example,video games simulating sports games and matches are popular. Theycommonly even show actual leagues with correct teams. Hometowns may beshown, with realistic stadiums. Athletes' uniforms representprofessional athletes' actual uniforms. Specific athletes arerepresented. For example, an image of Shaquille O'Neil may be used asone of the players on the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team. KobeBryant and all of Shaquille's actual teammates may be on the team withhim.

But the realism goes far beyond just images. The video game charactershave characteristics approximating their real life counterparts. Forexample, the video game Shaquille may be very good at dunking thebasketball, but horrible at shooting free-throws. Parameters are storedon the video game medium that cause the different characters toreplicate their real life counterparts' performance.

Video game producers typically produce professional sports video gamesonce per year. The performance parameters and visual aspects aretypically specified based on the most recent year. For example, BarryBonds of the San Francisco Giants baseball team had a homerun average of(73 home runs)/(476 at bats)=15.3 percent during the 2001 season. Thisaverage can be used to set a video game parameter so that the video gamecharacter Barry Bonds has a similar tendency to hit homeruns. A problemwith this system is that the performance parameters and visual aspectsof a video game are fixed at the time the video game is produced.

The players of this type of game continually demand increased realism insuch games. For example, more and more parameters are added todistinguish one character from another and to more accurately simulatethe performance of real life athletes. Also, the realism of the visualaspects of players, teams and stadiums is continually increased. Forexample, the ivy on the outfield wall of Wrigley Field in Chicago may beshown in a baseball video game.

The problem remains that visual aspects and performance characteristicsof real life sports players, teams and environments change throughoutthe year.

SUMMARY

Sports video games attempt to achieve realism. Particularly, sportsvideo games frequently attempt to emulate professional sport details.Actual professional athletes are shown, frequently including suchdetails as jersey numbers, physical stature and even facial features.Performance characteristics are emulated. For example, in a baseballvideo game, an individual professional athlete's batting average may beused to influence a video game character's batting performance.Frequently, actual professional teams are provided for video game play.For example, in a basketball video game, players can play the LosAngeles Lakers versus the Chicago Bulls, complete with rosters, playersand even a stadium. Video game players are demanding more and morerealism like this.

A major problem with this system is that professional sports change inmany ways. Athletes' performances change over the course of a season, oreven a day. Additionally, athletes may be traded from team to team, orbecome injured. Stadia may change. Sports announcers may change. Thisleaves a video game behind, in an unrealistic state. For example, if anew star rises on the professional sports scene, during the middle of aseason, that new star's incredible performance will not be duplicated bythe video game. Video game players are stuck playing the game with thestar having his pre-star characteristics. They must wait for the videogame producers to produce a new video game incorporating the newstar-like performance of the rising star. This is unsatisfying for videogame players. They want to play a video game that matches theprofessional sport performance characteristics, look and feel.

Accordingly, a system and method for updating parameters of a video gameis provided. As events occur in the real world that may influence a gameattribute, a parameter is recorded on a server. A video game player mayconnect to the server and download the parameter. The parameter isstored by the video game and changes an attribute of the video game.Thus, for example, the new performance characteristics of the risingstar may be recorded on the server as improved performance parameters.When these parameters are downloaded by the video game player, the videogame incorporates the star-like qualities of the rising star.

This quantifiably increases realism. Video game players can downloadup-to-the-minute statistics and visual aspects for incorporation intotheir video games. Instead of playing with last season's teams, videogamers get a simulation of the fresh new events of the week, day, orhour.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a structure of a video game systemand a historical event.

FIG. 2 is a high level block diagram of a video game system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a video game system.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a game medium.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the players stored in ROM.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a RAM.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for choosing whether to update a video game.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart for updating a video game.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart for loading data into RAM and playing a videogame.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a portion of a flow diagram forauthenticating a user of a video game.

FIG. 11 shows a portion of a process for authenticating a video gameuser, continued from FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram showing a process for signing up a new user ofa video game with downloadable statistics.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram showing a download process of a new gameparameter.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram showing game play in a case in which an AC isrequired.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is an external view of a video game system and a historicalevent. A historical event 11 takes place. For example, the event may bea World Cup soccer game, or an American football game. In a morespecific example, the event 11 may be the occurrence of a new yearlycompletion percentage, or other performance statistic, of a specificquarterback in a specific professional American football game.

A datum 17 relating to the historical event 11 is recorded on a computerreadable medium known as a network server 14. A game machine 20 iscoupled to the network server 14. The game machine 20 downloads thedatum 17, which may, for example, represent a quarterback's completionpercentage, a basketball player's free throw percentage, or any otheroutcome of a realistic event. The datum 17 is then used to play a videogame, which is displayed on a monitor 24. A user 28 plays the video gameusing controller 30. In this way, the user gets to play a video game themore accurately simulates the real world.

For example, a datum representing a quarterback's new completionpercentage is loaded into memory (not shown) in the game machine 20.Then, the user 28 can play an American football video game with currentstatistics. This makes the video game more enjoyable to the user 28,adding increased realism. As real life professional players'performances change, users can still play with statistically accurateplayers.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a video game system. The video game machine20 incorporates a central processing unit (CPU) 32 and coprocessor (CP)34. The CP 34 includes a bus control circuit 38 for controlling buses, asignal processing unit (SPU) 40 for performing polygon coordinatetransformation, shading treatment, etc., a display processing unit (DPU)45 for rasterizing polygon data into an image to be displayed andconverting the data into a data from (dot data) stored on a framememory. The CP 34 is coupled to a cartridge connector 50 for detachablymounting with a ROM cartridge 52, a disc drive connector 54 fordetachably mounting with a disc drive 56, and a RAM 58. Also, the CP 34is connected with an audio signal generating circuit 61 for outputting asound signal to an audio output device 62, processed by the CPU 32, andan image signal generating circuit 64 for outputting an image signal toa display 65. Further, the CP 34 is coupled with a controller controlcircuit 67 for serially transferring operational data for one or aplurality of controllers 70 a-70 d and data for a RAM cartridge 73 forextension.

A modem 72 is coupled to the bus control circuit 38. The modem 72 isalso preferably coupled to the internet (not shown). As discussed withreference to FIG. 1, a server coupled to the internet storesperformance, visual image and audio parameters. The modem 72 couples tothe server and downloads a parameter for play in the video game. The CPU32 sends a signal through the bus control circuit 38 to initialize themodem 72 and control the modem 72 to download the parameter. Preferably,the parameter is stored in RAM 58 for play of the video game, asdiscussed below. It will be understood by those of skill in the art thatother configurations of video game machines are possible. For example,the CPU 32 and the CP 34, or portions of the CP 34, may be incorporatedas one component. Also, for example, RAM 58, may be divided into morethan one memory element, or other types of memory elements may beincluded.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a block diagram of a video game system isshown. A data server 82 is coupled to a network 85. The network 85 maybe, for example, what is commonly referred to as the internet, or,alternatively, the network 85 may be another type of network, such as alocal area network (LAN). The data server 82 stores information for usein video games. Advantageously, new statistical results or parameterscan be stored on the data server 82. For example, when a realprofessional athlete changes a performance rating, the changedperformance rating can be stored on the data server 82. For example,when a professional baseball player changes his batting average, thechanged batting average can be stored on the data server 82. Or, as asecond example, if a professional American football quarterback changeshis completion percentage the changed completion percentage can bestored on the data server 82. This allows a video game player to play avideo game with the new statistics. The changed statistic may be storedas the actual number that the statistic represents. For example, if abatting average goes from 0.275 to 0.278, then the number 0.278 may bestored on the data server. Or the new statistic may be stored on thedata server as a parameter of a video game. The parameter can then beused to affect how the video game character interacts with the videogame environment.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the user (not shown) plays the video game byentering inputs through a user interface 87. The user interface 87 maybe, for example, a video game controller (not shown). The user interface87 is coupled to a video game machine 90, which may be a video gamemachine 20, as shown with reference to FIG. 2. The video game machine90, is coupled to a RAM 95 and a local memory 99, preferably a read onlymemory (ROM). The RAM 95 is used for storing data and rules (describedlater with reference to FIG. 4) from the game medium 103.Advantageously, the parameter is also stored on the RAM 95. Thus, thevideo game is played with the changed statistic. Advantageously, a videogame character, such as, for example, an American football quarterback,will play more realistically based on the video game character's reallife performance, such as, for example, a completion percentage.

The video game machine 90 is coupled to a modem 107 for coupling to thenetwork 85. The parameter is downloaded by the video game machine 90from the data server 82 by means of the modem 107 and the network 85. Aswill be understood by those of skill in the art, the modem 107 may beincorporated as part of the video game machine 90, or a separatecomponent.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a game medium, preferably a ROM 109. Thegame medium may be, for example, a compact disc (CD), a digital videodisc (DVD), or a cartridge. The ROM 109 includes many rules andparameters for the video game. Rules 111 are stored on the ROM 109. Therules 111 are shown as Rule 1, Rule 2, Rule 3, etc. The rules govern howthe game is played and displayed on the user interface. Advantageously,the rules can be updated to match the rules of the real world.

There are also other parameters stored on the ROM 109. For example,stadium parameters 113 may be stored. For example, the game may displayWrigley Field for play by the Chicago Cubs and Fenway Park for play bythe Boston Red Socks. For example, the ivy on the homerun wall ofWrigley Field is green and flourishing during certain parts of the year,such as from May to July. During April, August and September, the ivy isbrowner. The color of the ivy shown in a baseball video game showingWrigley Field can change based on the time of the year that the videogame is played.

As another example of how realism can be increased, new memorials togreat players can be implemented in the video game stadiums. Forexample, in 2002, Ted Williams' number, “9”, was displayed in theleftfield grass of Fenway Park after the start of the season. Baseballvideo games were already produced. So the video game fields did not havethe number on the field, failing to duplicate real life. Now, the fieldcan be changed to match real life after the game is produced, sold andplayed in the user's home.

Referring again to FIG. 4, referees 115 may be stored. Referees'appearances and performance may be stored. For example, some referees inbasketball call technical fouls frequently. Some referees rarely calltechnical fouls. Parameters can be stored regarding the individualreferees that simulate these real life differences.

Team statistics and other parameters can also be stored, such as, forexample, the city, owners, trainers, coaches, players, etc. For example,Mike Bibby of the Sacramento Kings, during the 2001-2002 regular seasonaveraged 13.7 points and 12.3 shots attempted per game. In the playoffsof the same season, he averaged 20.2 points and 16.1 shot attempted pergame. These improved playoff statistics can now be downloaded. A videogame player can play a basketball video game with a Mike Bibby characterincorporating the better performing real world Mike Bibby.

As another example, the 2000-2001 Chicago Bears' opponents scored anaverage of 22.2 points per game with an average of 114.2 rushing yardsper game. The 2001-2002 Chicago Bears' opponents scored an average of12.7 points per game with an average of 82.1 rushing yards per game.This change was not reflected in video games played during the 2001-2002season. At that time, the newest video games reflected the statisticsfrom the 2000-2001 season. Thus, the Chicago Bears on the video gamesplayed poorly, whereas the Chicago Bears on the real football fieldplayed very well. This dichotomy between video game and real life isfrustrating to many video game players.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the players stored in ROM. Player 1, Player2, Player 3 and several other players are shown. Under each player,several statistics are shown. For example, if the video game isbasketball, Statistic 1 may be a player's field goal percentage.Statistic 2 may be a free throw percentage. Statistic 3 may be blocksper game. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the number andtype of statistics stored will vary with the game and with the way thevideo game designer choses to design the game.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a RAM 135 used to store game parameters forplay of a video game. RAM 135 may be used to store game parameters asare RAM 58 (FIG. 2) and RAM 95 (FIG. 3). Preferably, items are loadedfrom ROM 109 (FIG. 4) into RAM 135. Preferably, all of the rules 111(FIG. 4) are loaded into RAM at 138. However, only one stadium is loadedfrom ROM to RAM. Also, only two teams, shown as Team 1 and Team 2 areloaded. As discussed with reference to FIGS. 1-3, above, a new parameteris downloaded from the server and stored in RAM 135. Preferably, the newparameter is stored in RAM in addition to the parameter as loaded fromROM.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a flowchart is shown. In step 221, the methodstarts. In step 224, it is determined whether auto update is enabled. Ifauto update is enabled, the method continues by going to FIG. 8, asshown at step 227. If auto update is not enabled, the main menu isdisplayed at step 230. In step 232, a user chooses to start a game orrequest an update.

In step 234, it is determined whether the user requested an update. Instep 236, the method continues by going to FIG. 9, if the user did notchoose to update the video game. If the user did choose to update thevideo game, the method continues by going to FIG. 8, at step 238.

Referring now to FIG. 8, in step 241, the CPU initializes the modem. Instep 243, the modem establishes a network connection. Next, in step 245,the CPU sends a request for data to the data server. At 247 and 249, thedata server 247 sends the requested data 249 to the CPU. Advantageously,the requested data 249 may be updated, or changed, statistics forplaying a more realistic video game. For example, as mentioned above,the user may be requesting updated batting averages for game charactersin a professional baseball video game. Or, to continue the example fromabove, the video game player may be requesting a newly establishedcompletion percentage for an American football quarterback. Preferably,the request is for all the new statistics resulting from a real gamethat has already been played, or from a plurality of games.

Referring again to FIG. 8, at step 250, the CPU receives the requesteddata and stores it in local memory 254. In step 251, the CPU disconnectsthe modem from the network. Next, at step 253, the user is prompted thatthe data transfer is complete. The main menu is displayed at step 255,and the method continues to FIG. 9 for play of the game.

In FIG. 9, a flowchart is shown for the play of the video game. At step265, the game starts. Next, at step 270, the CPU loads the game engine275 from the game medium 280 into RAM 285. Next, at step 290, the CPUloads the requested data 295 from local memory 300 into RAM 285. Therequested data 295 is preferably the changed statistics requested by theuser and stored in local memory as shown in FIG. 8. This way, updatedstatistics, such as new player performance parameters resulting fromcurrent, real professional games can be used to play a more realisticvideo game, as shown at step 305.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a portion of a flow diagram forauthenticating a user of a video game. At step 334, a CPU initializes amodem. The modem connects to a network at step 337. The game machinedisplays a login/sign-up screen at step 340. The user selects either tosign up or login in at step 342. If the user selects to login, the nextstep depends upon whether an authentication code (AC) is required, asshown at step 344. If no AC is required, the CPU sends the login data tothe server at step 346. The flow then continues at FIG. 11.

Alternatively, an AC may be required by the network, as shown at step348. This allows the network to verify that the user has a properauthentication code. For example, the authentication code may beprovided at sign-up (described with respect to FIG. 12) by the networkto the user. This way, the network administrator can verify that theuser is a paying user. As another example, a new authentication code maybe provided on a periodic basis, such as, for example, monthly. Thus, ifa user is paying on a monthly basis, correct authentication is onlyavailable if the user's dues are current. As yet another example, the ACmay be associated with a specific game machine by either the network orthe CPU. This allows for security for preventing portability of AC'sfrom one game machine to another.

Referring again to FIG. 10, if authentication is required, it dependswhether the AC is auto-sent or not, as shown at step 351. If the AC isauto-sent, the process continues at step 346. If the AC is notauto-sent, the user enters a user verification code, at step 354. Atstep 357, the CPU compares the user verification code to a game machineauthentication code. If the user verification code matches the gamemachine authentication code, at step 360, the process continues at step346. As stated in step 346, the login data 363 is stored at a networkserver 366. Next, the process continues at FIG. 11.

FIG. 11 shows a portion of a process for authenticating a video gameuser, continued from FIG. 10. At step 369, the server attempts toauthenticate the login data and any AC present. The AC may include auser verification code, to verify that the user is authorized to receiveupdated game parameters. Also, the AC may include a code identifying aspecific game machine. This identifying code may, for example, be aserial number from the game machine. Alternatively, the identifying codemay be a code assigned by the network administrator to the game machineat sign-up (described with respect to FIG. 12). Further, the networkadministrator may verify that the identifying code, the verificationcode, and the user login data all match. The verification code may be apassword.

At step 372, the network checks whether the login data and any AC isauthenticated. If the login data and any AC are authenticated, at step376, the server sends a menu of available data to the game machine.Then, at step 384, the CPU displays the menu to the user and continuesto FIG. 13. If the login data and any AC are not authenticated at step372, the server sends a failure message to the CPU, at step 380. The CPUdisplays the failure message to the user, at step 388. Preferably, theCPU next displays the login/sign-up screen to the user again. Theprocess returns to the beginning of FIG. 10, at step 334.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram showing a process for signing up a new user ofa video game with downloadable statistics. In step 390, the CPUdisplays, a sign-up screen. In step 393, the user enters the user's nameand chosen password, and possibly other identifying information, such asa birthdate, address, etc. In step 396, the process depends upon whetherthe AC is auto sent. If the AC is auto sent, the CPU sends the sign-updata 404 to the server 408 in step 400. In step 412, the server sendsaccount options 416 to the game machine.

In step 420, the CPU displays the account options to the user. In step424, the user selects what type of account the user chooses. In step428, the CPU sends the users choice of account type to the server 408.For example, the user may choose to pay for downloads of new gameparameters on a monthly basis. As another example, the user may chooseto pay for downloads of new game parameters for an entire sports season.Or, as yet another example, the user may choose to pay for downloads ofnew game parameters on a pay per use basis. Other business models willbe apparent to those of skill in the art.

In step 432, the server verifies the information, creates an account andsends a menu of game data to the game machine. In step 436, the CPUdisplays the menu to the user. Next, the process continues as shown inFIG. 13.

Alternatively, if in step 396, the AC is not auto sent, the user entersan AC, in step 440. In step 444, the CPU compares the user input AC withthe game machine authentication code. In step 446, the CPU determineswhether the user input AC matches the game machine AC. If not, theprocess continues at step 448 and the CPU displays an error message tothe user. If the user input AC matches the game machine AC, the processcontinues at step 400.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram showing a download process of a new gameparameter. In step 450, the user selects a set of desired gameparameters. For example, the desired parameters may comprise a completeset of new parameters for all teams in the game. As another example, thedesired parameters may comprise the results of a single sports game fora single team. In step 453, the CPU sends the request to the server.

In step 456, the process depends on whether the game machine requires anauthentication code. In step 459, the server sends the requestedparameters to the CPU if the game machine does not require andauthentication code. In step 462, the CPU stores the new game parametersin local memory 465.

Alternatively, if in step 456, the game machine requires an AC, theprocess continues to step 468. In step 468, the server attaches accountinformation and the AC to the parameter. In step 471, the server sendsthe parameter to the CPU. In step 474, the CPU compares the AC with thegame machine AC. In step 476, the game machine determines whether the ACsent by the server matches the AC stored on the game machine. If thereis no match 476, the CPU displays an error message in step 482. If thereis a match 476, the CPU stores the data at step 479 in local memory 465.The data, or new game parameters, can then be used for play in a gamewith quantifiably increased realism.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram showing game play in a case in which an AC isrequired. In step 490, the CPU displays a game menu. In step 495, theuser selects to load saved data 500, which has been stored in localmemory 505. In step 510, the CPU reads data from local memory. In step515, the CPU compares an AC associated with the data to the game machineAC. In step 520, the process determines whether the AC associated withthe data is the same as the game machine AC. If they don't match, theCPU displays an error message in step 535. If they match, the CPU loadsthe parameter data into RAM 525 in step 530. Then, the new gameparameters are used for play in a game with quantifiably increasedrealism.

What is claimed is:
 1. A game medium including one or more read onlymemory (ROM) and/or random access memory (RAM) configured to provide asport video game in conjunction with a video game machine, the gamemedium configured to cause the video game machine to perform a methodcomprising: accessing stored video game data, the stored video game dataincluding: sport video game rules; sport video game stadium or fieldparameters including sport video game stadium or field visual image datavisually depicting one or more real-life stadium or field in the sportvideo game; and sport video game character data including: one or moresport video game character performance parameter of one or more sportvideo game character, the sport video game character performanceparameter of the one or more video game character representing one ormore real-life professional sport athlete's real-life performanceattribute in the sport video game; and sport video game character visualimage data of the one or more sport video game character representingone or more real-life appearance of the one or more real-lifeprofessional sport athlete in the sport video game; receiving sportvideo game character control input from the user to control the one ormore sport video game character while the sport video game is played bythe user; receiving updated sport video game character visual image datafrom a server computer over a network including the Internet, theupdated sport video game character's visual image data being associatedwith one or more real-life change to a real-life visual appearance ofthe one or more real-life professional sport athlete; updating the videogame character visual image data of the one or more sport video gamecharacter representing the one or more real-life change in visualappearance of the one or more real-life professional sport athlete inthe sport video game; and enabling the user to play the sport video gameincorporating the updated video game character visual image data of theone or more sport video game character using the video game machine suchthat the real-life change in appearance of the real-life professionalsport athlete is represented in the sport video game.
 2. The game mediumof claim 1, wherein the received and updated video game character visualimage data of the one or more sport video game character visuallyrepresents a real-life change in physical appearances of thecorresponding one or more real-life professional sport athlete in thesport video game.
 3. The game medium of claim 2, wherein the receivedand updated video game character visual image data of the one or moresport video game character visually represents a real-life change inphysical stature appearance of the corresponding one or more real-lifeprofessional sport athlete in the sport video game.
 4. The game mediumof claim 1, wherein the received and updated video game character visualimage data of the one or more sport video game character visuallyrepresents a real-life change in facial feature of the corresponding oneor more real-life professional sport athlete in the sport video game. 5.The game medium of claim 1, wherein the received and updated visualimage data of the one or more sport video game character represents areal-life change in visual appearance of the one or more real-lifeprofessional sport athlete's uniform in the sport video game.
 6. Thegame medium of claim 1, wherein the received and updated visual imagedata of the one or more sport video game character represents areal-life change in visual appearance of the one or more real-lifeprofessional sport athletes' jersey in the sport video game.
 7. The gamemedium of claim 1, wherein the received and updated visual image data ofthe one or more sport video game character represents a real-life changein the corresponding one or more real-life professional athlete's playernumber in the sport video game.
 8. A video game machine providing theplatform for a user to play the sport video game provided by the gamemedium of claim 1, the video game machine comprising: one or more videogame machine processor; one or more video game machine input including:the one or more video game machine input receiving updates to the sportvideo game from a server computer; and one or more control inputreceiving control input from the user controlling one or more sportvideo game character incorporating the updated video game charactervisual image data of the one or more sport video game character whileplaying the sport video game; one or more video game machine displayoutput displaying the sport video game in conjunction with a displaydevice while the sport video game is played by the user; and the gamemedium according to claim
 1. 9. The video game machine according toclaim 8, wherein the one or more video game machine processor includes:a central processing unit (CPU) and a coprocessor (CP), the CPincluding: a signal processing unit (SPU) performing at least polygoncoordinate transformation and shading treatment; and a displayprocessing unit (DPU) performing rasterization of polygon data into atleast one image to be displayed, wherein the CP is connected with anaudio signal generating circuit for outputting a sound signal to anaudio output device, processed by the CPU, and an image signalgenerating circuit outputting an image signal to a display.
 10. One ormore datum storage structure stored on the game medium of claim 1, thedatum structures stored on the game medium of claim 1 comprising: one ormore sport video game rule datum field storing the data representing thesport video game rules; one or more sport video game stadium or fielddatum field storing the data representing the sport video game stadiumor field parameters including the sport video game stadium or fieldvisual image data visually depicting one or more real-life stadium orfield in the sport video game; and one or more sport video gamecharacter datum fields storing the one or more sport video gamecharacter data, including: the one or more sport video game characterperformance parameters, the sport video game character performanceparameters of one or more video game characters representing the one ormore real-life professional sport athlete's performance attributes inthe sport video game; the sport video game character visual image dataof the one or more sport video game characters representing thereal-life appearance of the one or more real-life professional sportathlete in the sport video game; and the updated sport video gamecharacter visual image data received from the server computer over thenetwork including the Internet.
 11. The one or more datum storagestructure of claim 10, the one or more sport video game character datumfields further storing updated sport video game character performanceparameters received from the server computer over the network includingthe Internet, wherein the one or more updated video game characterperformance parameter is based at least in part on one or more real-lifeperformance statistic of the one or more real-life professional athleteperforming in one or more real-life professional sporting event.
 12. Aserver computer for updating the sport video game provided by the gamemedium of claim 1 in conjunction with the video game machine, the servercomputer comprising: one or more server computer processor; one or moreserver computer input for receiving one or more updated sport video gamecharacter data; one or more server computer output for transmitting theone or more updated video game character data to the video game machineover a network including the Internet; one or more server computer RAMand/or ROM storage medium configured to cause the server computer toperform a method comprising: storing the one or more updated sport videogame character data on the one or more server computer storage medium;accessing the one or more updated sport video game character data storedon the one or more server computer storage medium, the one or moreupdated sport video game character data including: one or more updatedsport video game character performance parameter, wherein the one ormore updated video game character performance parameter is based atleast in part on one or more real-life performance statistic of the oneor more real-life professional athlete performing in one or morereal-life professional sporting event; and one or more updated sportvideo game character visual image data, wherein the one or more updatedsport video game character visual image data is associated with one ormore change in a real-life visual appearance of the one or morereal-life professional sport athlete; transmitting to the video gamemachine the updated sport video game character data to the video gamemachine over a network including the Internet, including: transmittingto the video game machine the one or more updated sport video gamecharacter performance parameter, wherein the one or more updated sportvideo game character performance parameter changes the manner in whichthe one or more video game character performs in the sport video gamesuch that the one or more video game character more closely simulatesmore current real-life performance attribute of the one or morereal-life athlete in the sport video game; and transmitting to the videogame machine the one or more updated sport video game character visualimage data, such that the one or more sport video game character moreclosely visually resembles a more current appearance of the one or morereal-life athlete in the sport video game.
 13. A game medium includingone or more ROM and/or RAM configured to provide a sport video game inconjunction with a video game machine, the sport video game includingone or more sport video game rules, sport video game characters, andsport video game stadiums or fields, the game medium being configured tocause the video game machine to perform a method comprising: accessingsport video game data stored by the game medium for playing the sportvideo game, the sport video game data including: sport video game rules;one or more sport video game character represented by sport video gamecharacter data, the one or more sport video game character representinga corresponding one or more real-life professional sport athlete in thesport video game; one or more sport video game stadium or fieldrepresented by one or more sport video game stadium or field data, theone or more sport video game stadium or field representing acorresponding real-life sport stadium or field in the sport video game;one or more sport video game team represented by one or more sport videogame team data, each sport video game team including a plurality ofsport video game characters, the one or more sport video game teamrepresenting one or more real-life sport team in the sport video game;receiving an updated sport video game team parameter from a data servervia the network including the Internet, wherein the updated sport videogame team parameter includes data that describes a real-life change ofone or more real-life sport team attribute; updating the one or moresport video game team data in the sport video game based on the updatedsport video game team parameter received, such that the updated sportvideo game team more closely represents the changed real-life sport teamattribute in the sport video game; and enabling a user to control one ormore video game character of the updated video game team in the sportvideo game using the video game machine.
 14. A game medium according toclaim 13, wherein the update to the sport video game team dataassociated with the changed real-life sport team attribute includes achange in visual appearance of the sport video game team.
 15. A gamemedium according to claim 14, wherein the update to the sport video gameteam data associated with the changed real-life team attribute includesa change in visual appearance of a uniform or a jersey worn by thereal-life sport team.
 16. A game medium according to claim 13, whereinthe update to the sport video game team data associated with the changedreal-life team attribute includes a change one or more real-life sportteam competitive sport performance.
 17. A game medium according to claim16, wherein a change in the sport video game team performance parameterof a video game team considers the real-life performance of thereal-life sport team represented by the sport video game team in thesport video game.
 18. A game medium according to claim 17, wherein thechange in the sport video game team performance parameter considers areal-life performance of the real-life sport team against a particularreal-life opposing team.
 19. A game medium according to claim 13,wherein the update to the sport video game team data includes a changein a sport video game team coach parameter corresponding to a change ina real-life coach attribute of the real-life sport team.
 20. A gamemedium including one or more ROM and/or RAM configured to provide asport video game in conjunction with a video game machine, the sportvideo game including one or more sport video game rules associated withreal-life sport rules, sport video game characters representingreal-life sport athletes, sport video game referee and/or announcerrepresenting real-life referee and/or announcer, and sport video gamestadiums or fields representing real-life stadiums or fields, the gamemedium being configured to cause the video game machine to perform amethod comprising: accessing sport video game data stored by the gamemedium for playing the sport video game, the sport video game dataincluding: one or more sport video game character defined by sport videogame character data, the one or more sport video game characterrepresenting a corresponding one or more real-life professional sportathlete in the sport video game; one or more sport video game stadium orfield defined by one or more sport video game stadium or field data, theone or more sport video game stadium or field representing acorresponding real-life sport stadium or field in the sport video game;one or more sport video game referee and/or announcer defined by one ormore sport video game referee and/or announcer data, the one or moresport video game referee and/or announcer representing one or morereal-life sport referee and/or announcer in the sport video game;receiving an updated sport video game referee and/or announcer parameterfrom a computer server via a network including the Internet, wherein theupdated sport video game referee and/or announcer parameter describes areal-life change of one or more real-life sport referee and/or announcerattribute; updating the one or more sport video game referee and/orannouncer data in the sport video game based on the updated sport videogame referee and/or announcer parameter received, such that the updatedsport video game referee and/or announcer more closely represents thechanged real-life sport referee and/or announcer attribute in the sportvideo game; and enabling a user to control one or more video gamecharacter of the updated video game in the sport video game using thevideo game machine.